The Guardian of the Oracle
by ACloudyForecast
Summary: After Atem's return to the afterlife, Yugi had been feeling quite bored with life. But meeting two mysterious teens, both with conflicting stories, wasn't what he had in mind. Who should he help? The mysterious young man who warned him to stay away? Or the reckless young woman who was trying to drag him into trouble?
1. The Mysterious Man

Title: The Guardian of the Oracle

Summary: After Atem's return to the afterlife, Yugi had been feeling quite bored with life. But meeting two mysterious teens, both with conflicting stories, wasn't what he had in mind. Who should he help? The mysterious young man who warned him to stay away? Or the reckless young woman who was trying to drag him into trouble?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Yugioh series, only my own fan-made characters. Also, the deck of cards used in this story is based off a real deck called "Isis Oracle" by the lovely Alana Fairchild. A deck that I highly recommend.

Author's Note: I've been bouncing this idea around in my head for some time. I wasn't sure if I should write, then I thought 'why not?' So, here we are. There are OCs in this story, and they are a major factor, but there won't be any romance. Well, not intentionally, anyway. This is my first attempt at this fandom, so please bear with me, as it's been a while since I've watched the series.

Edit: I am in the process of re-writing this story. I'll leave the first chapter up, but have deleted the others. I don't know when I will re-upload them, maybe when they are up to standard? We'll see if this story is worth salvaging.

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**Chapter 1: The Mysterious Man**

Yugi smothered a yawn as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand, his elbow resting on the store's front counter. While it had been a busy day, the love of Duel Monsters was was strong as ever, it wasn't exactly exciting. He had helped a few young children chose their starter packs, offered advice to a couple of hapless parents who didn't know what to do about their kids sudden interest in Duel Monsters and he even participated in a few duels to teach the rookies a few things.

A typical day.

And while it was fun, it wasn't thrilling.

After everything that happened, rebuilding the millennium puzzle, becoming partners with Yami, helping Atem to return to the afterlife. After all of that, life seemed…dull. While he could have done without the danger, the literal life or death battles, he missed all the excitement he had experienced during that time.

He wasn't sure how he was going to top it.

Looking at the clock, Yugi noted with relief that there was ten minutes until closing time. He could start to close up the hobby shop now. But as he slipped off the stool behind the counter, the bell above the shop door tingled, alerting to him that someone had just entered. He made the motion to shuffle back to his usual spot when he paused. He looked at the person who entered and blinked.

Standing just inside of the store, the door shut behind them, was a person wearing a dark cloak with the hood up. Yugi couldn't tell the person's gender, but he could tell that the person wasn't all that tall. Well, they were taller than him (no surprise) by a foot or something. And their shoulders weren't all that broad either.

There was a slit in the cloak on their left, a gold pin in the shape of a small person keeping the cloak wrapped around their shoulders. It looked simular to an ankh, actually. A rather slender arm appeared from the slit, fingers trailing over the golden pin.

Thankfully, the person pulled the hood back, revealing a young man, no older than Yugi was. He had black hair, rather long it seemed, tied at the nape of his neck and disappearing into the cloak. He had messy bangs, the colour of navy blue. His eyes, surrounded by thick black lashes, were a deep green. If Yugi wanted to be dramatic, he would say forest or emerald green.

He looked around at the shop, but not really looking at Yugi. He seemed to be searching for something. He walked around silently, hardly making a sound. It was as though he didn't want to draw attention to himself.

"Can I help you?" Yugi asked, breaking the silence.

The young man finally turned to him and looked surprised. He narrowed his eyes in a searching manner. "You…?" he said, his voice surprisingly airy. "You were the Pharaoh's vessel, weren't you?"

"Er, I guess so," Yugi answered, breaking out into a cold sweat. Usually, when someone referred to the Pharaoh, it wasn't very good. "Although no one has put it like that before…"

"Forgive me," the guy said, bowing his head slightly. He then approached the front counter, keeping the cloak wrapped tightly around him. "I am searching for something. A card."

Yugi forced a grin to his lips. "Well, you've come to the right place."

"No, not a duelling card," he said, shaking his head before turning to look around again. "Do you have any unusual cards in your possession?"

"Unusual?" Yugi questioned, his brow furrowing. "I'm not sure what you mean."

The man didn't answer at first. He suddenly closed his eyes and became very still. A moment later he opened his eyes and sighed, almost wearily. "…Never mind," he said as he shook his head once more. "I cannot sense any present here. I wonder why I was…"

He turned away to mumble to himself. What he was saying, Yugi couldn't quite catch. He was mumbling under his breath. Yugi had to admit, though, he was somewhat intrigued. Be it curiosity or a yen for another adventure.

"So…what are you looking for exactly?" Yugi asked.

"No, I've said too much," the young man suddenly stated, turning away abruptly. He appeared suddenly edgy and nervous. Although it was hard to tell with the cloak, but it appeared as though he was clutching his side.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Yugi found himself asking.

He paused. "No."

"Are you…from Egypt?"

The sudden twitch of his shoulders was all the answer he needed.

"It was a lucky guess," Yugi added, trying to give the signal that he meant no harm.

The young man's shoulders suddenly sagged and he turned around, quickly making his way over Yugi and the front counter.

"You best be careful," he suddenly stated, urgency in his voice. "A girl called Nashwa is highly reckless and dangerous. You need to steer clear of her. Once she learns that you were once the vessel of the great Pharaoh, she will try to drag you into her lies."

He pulled his hand back into his cloak, fumbled around for a moment before pulling back and offered a closed hand toward Yugi. "Take this."

Although a little apprehensive, Yugi lifted his own hand to take whatever he was being given. A small stone, a light green in colour landed in the palm of his hand. He looked at it and blinked. "A rock?"

"It's a gemstone. Topaz," the mysterious man explained as he pulled his arm back into his cloak. "It should ward off evil spirits. It will help you see through her lies."

"Ah, thanks?" Yugi said.

"It would be best for you not to get involved," the guy went on to say as he backed away, heading for the door. Before reaching the door, though, he turned back to Yugi and bowed his head. "I apologise for the inconvenience I have caused."

With those parting words, he opened the door and quickly disappeared from sight.

"H-hey, wait!" Yugi shouted as he raced for the door, but as he stepped outside, the man was gone. He stood there for a while, holding the stone in his hand.

Well, his day had taken a rather strange turn…


	2. The Mysterious Woman

**Chapter 2: The Mysterious Woman**

Yugi found himself unable to sleep. As he lay on his bed, staring up at the topaz stone he was given, he couldn't stop thinking about that mysterious guy in the store today, nor get his 'warning' out of his head. Who exactly was this Nashwa person and why did he have to steer clear of her? And what was he looking for?

He had to admit that he was surprised when the guy wasn't interested in the Duel Monsters cards. From all past experiences, especially involving Egypt, they all had something to do with duelling. It's strange to think that things could be settled without duelling.

_**Crash!**_

The sound of glass shattering immediately pulled Yugi from his thoughts. He said up straight in bed and became silent. The sound was so telling and loud. Something was happening downstairs, in the hobby shop. Had that guy come back for something? Or was it that girl he had warned him about?

Soon, more sounds followed.

Dropping the stone onto his bed, Yugi slipped on his slippers before hurrying his way down stairs, trying to move as silently as he could. With each step his took, the sounds of destruction grew louder and louder. Someone was going all out in the store. But why?

He had better be careful.

Reaching the bottom step, Yugi pressed his back against the wall and peered around the corner. What he saw was a disaster zone. Display units, shelves and posters had been practically destroyed and were piled together in the centre of the shop. Duel Monster Cards were scattered about, starter packs ripped open and thrown to the floor carelessly.

And in the middle of all of the chaos was the form of a young woman. Again, she was taller than Yugi by a foot or so. She had sharp gold eyes with thick eyelashes. Her hair was golden blonde at the top of her head and her bangs, but faded into a pitch black at the tips, reaching to her waist. She was wearing short white dress with golden trimmings, thick gold chains wrapped around her small waist.

The thick black boots on her feet, reaching her knees, kinda looked out of place.

She was ruthlessly tearing open the starter packs, flicking through the cards before rolling her eyes and dropping them to the floor, stepping on them in frustration. She groaned in annoyance as she stomped over to the debris pile she made and huffed.

"Useless," she hissed as she drove her boot into the debris pile. "None of these are what I am looking for."

Yugi was aghast by how she was treating the Duel Monster cards. It made him feel uncharacteristically angry. "Hey!" he shouted as he stepped from his hiding spot. "What are you doing?"

The girl immediately turned toward him, her golden eyes taken on a more of a sharper glint. She removed her foot from the pile and strode toward him with a sense of purpose.

"These cards as worthless," she snapped. "Where do you keep your rare cards?" she then went on to demand. She appeared expectant, like Yugi would actually tell her and give her what she wants.

"After wrecking my store? I don't think I'll tell you," Yugi retorted defiantly. "All we have here are duel monster cards."

"I'm not looking for duel monster cards, midget," she once again snapped at him, her voice rather sharp and venomous. Just like her eyes. "Where have you kept the oracles?"

Yugi blinked, his anger momentarily forgotten. "Oracles?"

"Don't play stupid with me," she hissed, her patience seemed to be growing thin. However, her eyes suddenly darted off to the side and her face creased into a brooding expression. "That bastard was here. He must have gotten to them first. Shit…"

Yugi wondered if this girl was Nashwa, the one that guy from earlier today had warned him about? She had to be the one. Somehow his grandpa hadn't awoken from all the noise. Good. Better that way. He just had to get rid of her somehow.

He was slightly surprised to hear sniffling and he turned his attention back to the girl.

"No, I will not show weakness…" she sniffled and began to mumble to herself, vastly different from the demanding young woman from before. "I'm stronger than my past."

Yugi wasn't sure what to make of it. "Um, hey…?"

"Shut up!" she suddenly snapped, quickly reverting to that loud and dangerous person. "Don't you dare ask me about my past!"

Yugi blinked. "I wasn't really going-"

"You wouldn't understand!" she suddenly shrilled, taking a couple of stumbling steps backwards while frantically shaking her head. "I'm going to be sacrificed and nobody cares!"

Yugi winced from the volume of her voice, secretly hoping that Grandpa wouldn't wake up now. "Whoa, lower your voice, please."

"Typical male," she hissed, hunching her shoulders. "You think just because I'm a beautiful woman that you can just order me around."

"Ok, stop," Yugi snapped in return, finding it hard to keep up with her sudden changes of emotions. He had heard the term 'mood swings' before, but never had he encountered someone who fitted the description so well. "I have no idea what you're going on about."

Surprisingly, she became silent as she stared at him with a sharp and critical gaze. Her eyes suddenly harden and she furrowed her brow. "…You're that Pharaoh, aren't you?" she said before taking a somewhat threatening step forward. "Why aren't you helping me?"

"Because I have no idea what you're talking about!" Yugi found himself snapping again. "You've wrecked my shop, started screaming at me and verbally abusing me! And I have no idea why!"

The atmosphere suddenly became quite tense. "You dare to raise your voice to me? You little vermin," she said lowly, a look of pure betrayal in her eyes as she slowly backed away. "You're one of them, aren't you? You're working for my village…"

Yugi tilted his head to the side in question. "Er, village?"

"They're going to sacrifice me to their goddess," she said as she continued to stare at him, watching his every moved. Her body seemed to be on high alert, ready to react to anything.

However, a moment later, she shook her head furiously. "For years they have been worshipping a deck of cards called Isis Oracle, abusing them and making them do their bidding. I had no choice. It was me or them. I have to save myself and the cards. But now, thanks to that bastard Isidoro, the cards have disappeared. If I am to save my life, I need to find those cards before he does. That bastard, he's trying to kill me!"

"…I see," Yugi murmured, letting her to ramble on. He didn't understand what she was saying, what any of it meant, but if she was talking, she wasn't doing anything to wreck his shop.

But that guy she mentioned. Was she referring to the guy that was in his shop that afternoon?

"You're going to help me, right?" That wasn't so much of a plea, but a statement of facts. A demand, really.

"Well…"

"You must!" she shrilled as she took an abrupt step forward, almost in a threatening manner. "It's your duty to. Don't you see that me coming here was destiny. The vessel of the Pharaoh must protect me."

"Would you stop calling me that?" Yugi asked, not all the comfortable with being referred to as a vessel. He wasn't just the host for Atem. "Besides, Atem, the great Pharaoh, has returned to the afterlife. I am no longer a vessel, as you refer to me."

Her face creased into an expression of annoyance and frustration. "Then you are useless to me," she practically spat. "Of course. Men can't be trusted. No man has ever proved his worth to me. Why should you?"

"Yugi? What's going on down there?"

That was grandpa! He must have woken up from all the yelling after all.

"Another one?" she murmured, sending Yugi another look of betrayal. "Think you can gang up on me? Not likely."

Turning around, she suddenly ran through the shop and through the rather large hole in the shattered window. Yugi breathed a sigh of relief as she disappeared into the night. Hopefully she won't return again tonight.

"Nothing, grandpa!" Yugi yelled back to his grandpa, hoping to stop him from venturing into the store. "We'll talk about it in the morning!"

Now, what should he do about that broken window?


End file.
